Revenue for the eleven months to August rose 4%, an underlying increase of 2%. The group’s business-to-business divisions shored up revenues.
DMG Information's revenues for the period rose year on year by 8% (2% at constant exchange rates) and the group expects overall pretax profits for the division to be up 5%. Its two principal property information companies, Landmark (UK) and EDR (US), have been affected by the current state of the market, but Risk Management Solutions, Hobsons, Genscape, Trepp and Lewtan will all achieve double digit revenue growth. Euromoney Institutional Investor and DMG World Media both saw solid gains in revenues.
Revenues from Associated Newspapers rose 1%, boosted by cover price increases at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Advertising revenues rose by 0.4% year on
year, which includes an 11% rise in revenues from Associated Northcliffe Digital. Classified advertising was the weakest spot, falling 11%. A strong performance by its international division failed to prop up Northcliffe Media, where revenues fell 5%.
Viscount Rothermere, chairman, said: “Inevitably, the worsening economic conditions are having an impact on our newspaper and property businesses but the B2B divisions have continued to perform well. The recent events experienced by financial markets and institutions will have no material impact on this year's results.”
The shares dipped 8.37% to 306.5p. They had been staging a small recovery, having dropped from highs of over 800p last year. They now trade at around 7x earnings. The fall seems overdone now, but publishers are nobody’s friend at the moment. The Mail is hanging on to its market share and will probably fare better than most in this climate, but a turnaround in sentiment towards the sector still looks a long way off.